We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

If you’ve ever planned a long haul holiday, you’ll be well aware of the countless things you have to think about before you even get there.

Deciding the time of year you want to visit; finding flights that don’t cost an arm and a leg; figuring out whether you need a visa; I could go on.

Then there’s the limited time you have to see everything, which is especially difficult in a country as culturally rich as China.

Advertisement

Add to that booking accommodation and transport, the language barrier, and avoiding tourist traps when you’re there, and it’s enough to make you not want to go away in the first place. Not to mention the never ending challenges of flying anywhere right now.

Luckily, there is a way to circumvent having to navigate any of that.

For over 30 years, Wendy Wu Tours has specialised in running tours to China that will make you feel like you’re getting an exclusive, behind-the-scenes experience.

With decades of experience, Wendy Wu consults destination specialists to make sure you’ll experience the perfect mix of must-see attractions and local experiences you’d struggle to find yourself.

You know what that means: you’ll be able to avoid the hordes of tourists, which are only increasing to China each year – and it’ll save on hours of tiresome planning.

Advertisement

Of course, your trip will include all the best-known attractions, like walking along the Great Wall of China, marvelling at the Terracotta Warriors, sailing along the Yangtze River, and visiting panda conservation centres in Chengdu.

But that’s what the billions (six, to precise) of other tourists to China will be doing, too. Unlike them, though, Wendy Wu will also grant you access to experiences other tourists won’t know about.

Think: sharing lunch with a rural Chinese family, and tours through lesser-known regions so you can understand the full depths and diversity of the ancient country’s history.

And best of all, you won’t have to worry about any of the logistics. Choose from over 70 of Wendy Wu’s private or group tours to China, and the company will do everything for you.

Advertisement

Yes, that really means they’ll book your flights, accommodation, meals, guides, entrance fees, and transport – and it’s all included in your upfront cost.

It even works with trusted airlines so that it can deal with any unexpected changes to your travel, and provide hands-on support the entire time.

If none of the pre-planned trips appeal to you (which seems unlikely) you can also book an appointment to plan your very own trip.

Sound too good to be true? That’s why Wendy Wu has won the Best Specialist Operator at the Globe Travel Award for 16 consecutive years (this is where we’d whistle if we could).

It also has countless five-star reviews from happy customers who have done one of their tours of China.

Advertisement

One five-star review from a customer who did the China Experience tour enjoyed how knowledgeable their guide was.

“The tour guides were very knowledgeable, and it was good to hear their personal perspectives and experiences which shaped things for them and the changes that have advanced in modern China,” they said.

“It gave a very real element to the world beyond the facade of simply seeing what is in front of you.”

Another reviewer who did the Gems of China tour commented on the support Wendy Wu gave from booking through to the tour itself.

Advertisement

“From the first moment of booking we were very satisfied with the attention to detail and level of support we received from the company,” they said.

Others praised the quality of the hotels and transport connections, and not having to organise a trip themselves.

Whether you’ve never visited China before, or you want to deepen your knowledge of its history and culture, here are just a few of Wendy Wu’s pre-planned tours of China to explore now.

Includes:

• Imperial Beijing tour (including Tiananman Square)
• The Great Wall
• Tour of Ancient Xian, the former capital
• Terracotta Warriors
• Cruise through the Yangtze River
• Visit Chongqing Panda House
• Cruise down the Li River
• Visit Yangshuo region
• Explore Shanghai

Length: 16 days

Includes:

• Imperial Beijing tour (including Tiananman Square)
• The Great Wall
• Alleyways of the Muslim Quarter
• Terracotta Warriors
• Fly to Guilin to experience its stalagmites and caves
• Cruise down the Li River
• Yangshuo countryside and Tai Chi
• Chongqing hot springs
• Dazu carvings and drone show
• See the giant pandas at Chongqing Zoo
• Cruise through the Yangtze River
• Cruise through the Three Gorges and visit the dam
• Visit Zhangjiajie, ride on the glass elevator, and walk across the glass bridge
• Cable car to the top of Tianmen Mountain
• Explore Shanghai

Length: 20 days

Includes:

• Explore Shanghai
• Bullet train to Yichang and cruise the Yangtze river
• Explore Chiqikou
• Day at Chengdu Panda Reserve
• Terracotta Warriors
• Explore Beijing
• Great Wall of China

Length: 14 days.

Source link

Source link

The Republic of Ireland’s national football team coach, Icelandic Heimir Hallgrímsson has described the upcoming matches against Israel in the UEFA Nations League as a ‘war to be won,’ amidst mounting political and public pressure in Ireland to boycott the Israeli team due to the war in Gaza.

Israel match a war to be won

The Irish Times reported that Hallgrímsson emphasized during a press conference before the friendly match against Qatar that “the best response is to win this match, to win this war against Israel on the pitch,” arguing that the Irish players are facing unfair criticism for playing the two matches.

The newspaper added that the coach defended his players, saying, ‘We are not the villains here,’ stressing that the team wants to focus on football and avoid the escalating political controversy. He continued:

Other decisions are not made by us, but all the players would like to represent the country and do well for them, no matter who is the opponent.

Double standards

The Irish Independent reported that Hallgrímsson had previously expressed his surprise at Israel’s continued participation in international tournaments, stating that he “sees no difference” between the sporting sanctions imposed on Russia and Israel’s current situation. These remarks reignited the debate within Irish sporting circles regarding double standards in European football.

Despite mounting pressure, the Football Association of Ireland confirmed its commitment to playing the two matches after the two national teams were drawn into the same group in the UEFA Nations League.

But, several government ministers will boycott the upcoming match against Israel in Dublin in protest against the genocide in Gaza. The newspaper added that the Irish government is facing increasing pressure to take a firmer stance on holding the match, while popular and human rights calls for a sporting boycott of Israel, similar to the sanctions previously imposed on Russia, continue.

Calls for wider boycott

Republic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins has made it clear that players won’t be stopped from “taking a stand” against Israel:

They are entitled to their own opinions. If they are very strong about that, we can’t stop them.

There are concerns that if players refuse to play, the team could be thrown out of the Nations League. However, that would be a small price to pay for resisting any normalisation of relations with genocidal Israel.

Featured image via Getty/Gabriel Kutcha

By Alaa Shamali

Source link

Source link

On 26 May, Scotland’s parliament voted for the powers to hold an independence referendum, while Downing Street has rejected the request.

A “golden opportunity” that would “put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands,” is how SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney described independence.

Members of the Scottish parliament, MSPs, agreed on the second referendum by a strong margin. The motion passing 72 votes to 55. Support from the Scottish Greens gave the SNP enough votes to defeat opposition from the unholy London-centric alliance between Labour, Reform, Tories and Lib-Dems. Keir Starmer said he wouldn’t give Scots what they want.

Pro-independence supporters have gathered outside Holyrood

It comes after the Scottish Parliament voted to call on Westminster to devolve the powers which would allow it to hold a second independence referendum pic.twitter.com/WgRBnYvnxi

Advertisement

— The National (@ScotNational) May 26, 2026

Scotland and the promise of devolution

On 7 May the SNP secured their fifth consecutive election win which — for many Scots — reinforces a pro-independence mandate. Speaking after this week’s vote, Swinney emphasised that Holyrood had:

clearly expressed its view that Scotland should have the powers to arrange an orderly referendum on independence.

But in 2022 the British Supreme Court ruled that any future referendum could only be held with the consent of the UK Government. No consent has been granted, nor does it appear likely.

One Downing Street spokesperson said this week that the British Government neither supports independence, or another referendum.

Speaking to the Canary in early May, now-elected Greens noted that this was not the first time a Scottish constitutional matter has been vetoed a MSPs. Kate Nevens and Q Manivannan pointed to a 2021 child rights motion, blocked when it sought to adopt a UN resolution. This set a precedent for UK courts to slap-down similar efforts.

Scottish voters, particularly pro-independence voters, often point out that England pushed Brexit onto Scotland despite an overwhelming 62% pro-EU majority, north of the border. Some even believe that Brexit may have swayed the independence vote had it happened before the referendum.

This is a bitter point for many given that the ‘Better Together’ — pro-union, Labour- and Tory-led — campaign often touted EU membership as a key reason to remain in the UK. That was dashed just two years later.

Scotland is not alone in their democratic deficit. Wales too, now governed for the first time by pro-independence Plaid Cyrmu, also lacks constitutional means for secession.

However, the North of Ireland retains the Good Friday constitutional right to many referenda when it decides. Ruled by for the first time by anti-unionists Sinn Fein since 2022, they arguably have the strongest hand.

Whether a formal coalition — a union against the Union — will form across Celtic nations remains possible.

Untied Kingdom: anti-unionist parties take power across the Celtic nations

How popular is independence?

At the original Scottish independence referendum in 2014, around 55% of voters opposed independence.

That percentage hovered around there since, although pro-‘yes’ reportedly peaked at 53% in mid-2020 and again in late 2022. Another polling scheme suggests that 2019–2021 saw sustained pro-independence support, hovering between 51-53%, but more recently this dropped.

Pro-independence politicians from the SNP and Scottish Greens suggested to the Canary a major factor in pro-independence sentiment slipping away. They blame an overall material impoverishment caused by the UK’s sustained cost-of-living crisis. Now-elected SNP MSP Kate Campbell, for instance, said:

People are focused on bread-and-butter issues right now. …

Housing, the cost-of-living, making sure people are just surviving and getting through at the moment — that has to be the priority for government.

Advertisement

However, indy support has not dropped below 43% since 2014, meaning that only the unionist camp shrank over time. Pro-unionists consistently hold less strong beliefs than pro-independence counterparts.

Demographic changes since 2014 might suggest that the figure could be much lower now, given that — like Brexit — age demographics reflected voter opinion. Younger Scots largely supported the pro-independence vote and still do, with clear pro-indy leanings for all Scots under 50.

Featured image via the Canary

By Cameron Baillie

Source link

Monthly support makes the biggest difference. Thank you.

Source link

Source link

At exactly 9:00 AM on 22 May 2026, a digital ping cut through the frantic static of southern Lebanon’s emergency frequencies. It was a message from Ahmad Hariri – a young man who carried both a camera to bear witness to his homeland’s agony and the uniform of the Al-Risala Civil Defense to soothe it. The text was brief, accompanying a photograph he had just captured from the window of an ambulance: a plume of black smoke rising from the village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in the Tyre district.

It was the second strike of a calculated “double-tap” bombardment. Sitting alongside his brothers-in-arms, Ali Abboud and Hussein Kassir, Ahmad sent the image to explain the destruction unfolding ahead of them. Believing the immediate danger had passed, the team pressed the accelerator, rushing toward the burning horizon because they believed it was finally “safe” to save lives. They had no way of knowing that the smoke was a trap, or that high above the clouds, the mechanical hum of a terror drone had already locked onto their white vehicle. Seconds later, a precision missile tore through the ambulance, freezing Ahmad’s final message in time and transforming three young saviors into the very victims they had set out to rescue.

Medicide

This devastating strike was not an isolated tragedy, nor was it a mistake of military coordinates. It was a microcosm of a horrifying broader reality: the systematic, intentional execution of medicide – the deliberate dismantling of Lebanon’s humanitarian framework by targeting the very people who document the war and pull its survivors from the rubble.

The killing of paramedics is not a byproduct of overlapping coordinates, but rather a text-book manifestation of this phenomenon. Under the framework of medicide, the objective transitions from fighting an armed adversary to completely dissolving the healthcare infrastructure that allows human beings to survive on their land.

In stripping a territory of its first-responders, the strategy effectively weaponizes aid-denial, leaving remaining civilians with a catastrophic reality: a landscape where the wounded are left to die beneath the debris, because the hands that would have pulled them out have been systematically eliminated.

A deliberate military strategy

The systematic assault on Lebanon’s healthcare framework has evolved into one of the most lethal campaigns against humanitarians in modern conflict. According to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), Israeli strikes have killed at least 123 healthcare workers and paramedics, and injured more than 260 others just since Israeli aggression brutally escalated on 2 March 2026.

This targeted violence is defined on the ground by tactical aggression: over 100 ambulances and emergency vehicles have been destroyed, multiple hospitals have been forced to close entirely, and rescue teams have been repeatedly subjected to “double-tap” strikes, or hit more than twice, as happened with the Risala Civil Defense team that Ahmad Hariri accompanied.

By converting highly visible civil defense symbols, their gear, and paramedics into combat targets, this campaign transcends individual casualties; it functions as a deliberate military strategy to dismantle the civilian safety net, paralyzing emergency operations and enforcing mass depopulation.

A psychological ultimatum

In southern Lebanon, paramedics and civil defense volunteers are the glue that allows a community to withstand bombardment. When a military systematically hunts down ambulances and kills the very personnel trained to extract families from the rubble, it issues a stark psychological ultimatum to the remaining population: if you choose to stay, and your home is targeted, no one is coming to save you.

The destruction of the rescue apparatus accelerates mass displacement far more effectively than indiscriminate shelling alone, cleansing strategic geographic zones by intentionally removing the civilian safety net. Moreover, the targeting of paramedics creates a psychological fear of the double-tap that extends beyond the strikes’ immediate casualties. It paralyzes the entire emergency response loop, forcing dispatchers to make agonizing calculations about whether sending an ambulance to a fresh strike site is a rescue mission or a death sentence.

Redefining the battlefield

Ultimately, this weaponized denial of aid redefines the battlefield. By treating the high-visibility vest not as a symbol of legal protection, but as indicators of high-value targets, the military apparatus successfully transforms emergency medical care from a humanitarian right into an impossible act of resistance.

Under Article 24 of the First Geneva Convention, medical personnel and those engaged in the search, collection, and transport of the wounded are granted absolute protection. They are deemed neutral actors on the battlefield. Yet, on the ground, this immunity has been entirely neutralized when it comes to terrorizing a colonial entity such as Israel, which has a long history in violating human rights and international agreements.

No accountability in Gaza has given a green light for Lebanon

How does Israel explain these inhumane acts of terror? Simple:

members of Hezbollah are using the civil defense vehicles and centers for military actions against the state of Israel.

It’s the same line used by IOF spokespersons on multiple occasions, as they have done in Gaza <during the genocide. Since the previous “ceasefire” and until today, however, the IOF makes no such excuses. Instead, they deliberately target the vehicles and centers without hesitation, whether it be for the first time, a double-tap, a triple-tap, or even a quadruple-tap, as the world has seen in the Mayfadoun attack in mid-April.

This strategy, carried out with impunity, is a direct extension of the structural blueprint established during the devastating campaigns in Gaza. For months, the systematic targeting of hospitals, the killing of over 150 journalists, and the routine execution of ambulance drivers were met with diplomatic shielding – particularly from the US, the EU, and the UK – and hollow calls for “internal military investigations” by Israel, proceedings that global watchdogs note are quietly closed or left unresolved in most cases. This calculated lack of accountability sent a green light to the theater of war in Lebanon.

It proved that the rules of global humanitarian law could be bypassed without consequence. When the international community – led by the silence and weapon shipments of Western powers – failed to enforce red lines over the bodies of healthcare workers in Gaza, it fundamentally reshaped the theater of war. By failing to protect the high-visibility vest and the “PRESS” helmet, the international community is complicit in allowing these universal symbols of safety to be transformed into literal targets by its colonial extension in the Middle East.

Old strategies with drone precision

Ultimately, the double-tap strike that took the lives of Ahmad Hariri, Ali Abboud, and Hussein Kassir in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr was its intended output. The strategy is as old as conflict itself, yet modernized with drone precision: blind the world by killing the storyteller, and abandon the wounded by executing the savior.

By targeting individuals who possess the dual courage to both pull victims from the rubble and capture the crimes on film, the military apparatus attempts to enforce absolute monopoly over the narrative and the space of southern Lebanon.

Yet, this campaign of intimidation inherently carries the seeds of its own failure. While Ahmad Hariri’s camera was shattered and his pulse was stopped on the asphalt of Deir Qanoun, the final story he documented was his own. The collective grief and fierce defiance displayed during the funeral processions in Tyre and his hometown stand as proof that a community cannot be easily terrorized into oblivion.

Ahmad’s life and death left behind an unerasable record – an indictment written in fabric and digital memory. The rubble may bury the buildings, and precision missiles may claim the medics, but they cannot erase the truth that Ahmad Hariri died ensuring the world would see what happened to his land.

Featured image via Carl Court/Getty Images

By Mohamad Kleit

Source link

Labour MP Richard Burgon has spoken out against Ofgem’s price cap rise, labelling it a “total con”:

Ofgem’s so-called energy price cap is a total con. Bills are going up again

We need a real price cap that protects ordinary people, paid for through the profits of energy giants.

We need to replace expensive gas with cheaper renewables.

Advertisement

And energy back in public ownership!

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) May 27, 2026

Ofgem energy price cap

Reporting on the latest Ofgem price hike, the Canary’s Rose Cocker explained:

On 27 May energy regulator Ofgem announced that it will raise the energy price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026 by a massive 13%. That’s the sharpest hike in household energy prices of any summer in the past four years.

Bill-payers under the cap will now pay the equivalent of £1,862 a year from 1 July to 30 September for gas and electricity. That’s up from the current equivalent of £1,641 a year – an increase of around £18 a month, based on typical use.

Cocker added that Ofgem is blaming Trump and Israel’s war on Iran for the price increase. It should be noted, however, that while most of us are facing price increases, Shell just saw “first-quarter profits surge by 115%”. It’s a similar phenomenon to supermarkets experiencing record profits as the rest of us suffer record prices.

As Burgon notes, public ownership would improve things. Instead of losing money to shareholder profits, we could re-invest money into the network. We could also stabilise prices whenever an event like the current oil shock occurs.

On this topic, Cat Hobbs of We Own It said:

It is also time to rethink the private ownership of our energy grid. Across the sector, energy companies made £23.1 billion in profits last year, at a time when household energy bills were going up, and families were being squeezed on all fronts. Reinvesting profits that are currently being paid out to shareholders into cutting bills could go a long way to cut our energy bills and save people from falling further into fuel poverty.

Burnham to the rescue?

Many are hoping that Andy Burnham is the man to renationalise Britain’s utilities. The problem is that Burnham’s statements on the matter have been wishy-washy and conflicting:

Andy Burnham says we could have a "localised public control option" for Thames Water

What does that mean? Who is in charge? Where do the profits go?

We need nothing less than permanent PUBLIC OWNERSHIP of Thames Water with households, workers and anti sewage groups on the board pic.twitter.com/0s1OT1mMzz

Advertisement

— Cat Hobbs (@CatHobbs) May 23, 2026

As we reported, Burnham has not committed to ‘renationalising’ anything as far as we’ve seen. Instead, he’s talked about putting utilities under “stronger public control”. Burnham also said:

He has also spoken of stronger public control over utility companies. “I use that phrase advisedly. People then shorthand it as nationalisation; it’s not the same thing,” he said, pointing to Greater Manchester’s bus services, which are run by private operators.

When we suggested this means Burnham has no plans to renationalise, he responded as follows:

I’m not doing anything of the kind. Just got to be realistic about how quickly it can be done.

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) May 24, 2026

How quickly ‘what’ can be done, we don’t know, because he’s still not explained what he has in mind.

Reading between the lines, he seems to be suggesting that ‘stronger public control’ would be a stepping stone to full-on re-nationalisation? We don’t know, Andy — sounds like another centrist half-measure to us!

Hot air

Should Burnham come forwards with a clear plan for renationalisation, we’ll be sure to update you. Until then, we need to keep the pressure up. And this shouldn’t be difficult, because the public is massively in favour of nationalisation:

It’s almost like your average Briton doesn’t like being ripped off by private companies.

Featured image via Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

By Willem Moore

Source link

As was the case with season one, the new episodes follow a group of middle-aged friends over the course of one year in their lives, as they deal with the highs and lows of marriage, parenthood, friendship and grief.

Season one was a huge hit with audiences and critics, and judging by the overwhelmingly positive reviews, the second – which reunites showrunner Tina with Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Marco Calvani – looks set to be just as loved.

Here is what critics are saying about the second series of The Four Seasons….

“Poignant, hilarious, loaded with a super-sharp script … the second outing for this midlife comedy is even more fantastic than the first […] This is a dark and difficult world in which good men smash up vintage snack shacks, regrets must be lived with, sacrifices made, childhood traumas kept buried, and people who love each other want completely different things.”

Advertisement

“The freshman season of The Four Seasons worked because it was so willing to pull the rug from under the daily lives of a group of fifty-somethings, but season two, which has less wit and seemingly lower stakes, never quite reaches the breezy, banter-filled charm.

“Yet, with several new locations, including the Italian Alps in all of their winter glory, and a group of utterly talented actors whose chemistry leaps off the screen, the show remains a world very much worth checking out.”

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

“The writing is tack-sharp and the ensemble is full of underappreciated comic performers – Kenney-Silver, for example, has always been great in shows such as Reno 911! and 2 Broke Girls.

“Writers and cast realise that the humour here comes from the group interactions, not just quirky individuals saying funny lines.”

Advertisement

“When it isn’t making you laugh, The Four Seasons will break your heart, only to put it back together again when the clime next changes.”

“The Four Seasons is a love letter to honest friendships, the one constant in life through the day-to-day grind. Making the time to get together even once a season is a needed reset because sometimes, your friends are the calm amidst the chaos.”

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

“While it can be unbearably gooey and the characters hugely annoying, their dynamic sucks you in, which is testament to the skill of Fey and her co-screenwriters. In life, friendship groups can feel horribly excluding, especially if you are a stray outlier who is not quite in what Jack calls the ‘core group’.

“But the show has fun with its ensemble, pricks at their failings when it needs to and allows you to care. And while we don’t necessarily come to TV for life lessons, The Four Seasons offers plenty.”

Advertisement

“Like season one, The Four Seasons succeeds because it depicts middle age in ways television rarely attempts. These characters carry decades of friendship, compromise, resentment, and love. They care deeply for one another, but that love does not magically solve anything.

“Season two develops that idea even further, allowing grief and uncertainty to coexist with awkward holidays, disastrous flirtations, and the exhausting messiness of long-term friendship.”

“The ‘Core Group’ is not facing traditional midlife crisis moments, and yet that sword hangs over the cast at all times.

“Forte, Fey, Calvani, Kenney-Silver, and Domingo bring authenticity and empathy to their characters, and enrich the screenplays as a result. With fewer stereotypical moments, we dig deeper into these characters and their struggles. The cast is too good to ignore, and Domingo is poised for another Emmy nomination with his sweet performance.”

Advertisement

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix © 2025

“Fey leads the cast of seasoned pros making it all look easy. Standout turns remain Colman Domingo and Will Forte, with Marco Calvani enjoying a well-deserved push to the front. Erika Henningsen slots in well as new mum Ginny, but doesn’t have that much to do, while spiky, eccentric Anne once again takes a while to warm to but gets there in the end.

Fey is her usual persona at first as Kate, the savvy, sarky, capable New Yorker keeping everything and everyone together. However, such is the quality of the writing, Kate doesn’t stay that way for long. In one brief scene, set in flashback during Covid times, Kate and Danny are both sick. With a couple of sentences, a feverish Kate recalls something from her past that changes entirely how we will look at her from now on.”

“While The Four Seasons doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of a show like Shrinking, there’s still a warmth to the story that makes it easy to breeze through and be moved by along the way, resulting in a vacation I wouldn’t mind going on again next year.”

Both seasons of The Four Seasons are available to stream on Netflix now.

Advertisement

Source link